Spencer Dinwiddie was called up from the D-League to play point, and the youngster was a pleasant surprise. Obviously, they weren’t ready for action Friday, so Detroit was left short-handed in a matchup with Chicago. The Pistons acquired Reggie Jackson and Tayshaun Prince in separate moves Thursday. DeMar DeRozan posted 21 points, 8 boards and 3 steals, Jonas Valanciunas had 8 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Lowry went for 10 points and 9 dimes. Lou Williams erupted for 26 points including 7-10 from three-point range to go along with 4 steals in 24 minutes of play. TDot won in large part thanks to defense the Raps matched their season-high steals total with 15.
After last night’s victory on the road, Toronto captured the season series 3-1. Jerami Grant (16 points), Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Nerlens Noel (12 points, 9 rebounds) all showed out. There were bright spots Friday night, though. And the addition of Javale McGee isn’t exactly going to turn Philly’s season around. The Sixers were already lottery bound prior to dealing their best player, Michael Carter-Williams. CJ Miles chipped in with 17 points and Luis Scola contributed 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. After playing his heart out, Stuckey had to leave the floor with an injured ankle at the end of the fourth quarter. Rodney Stuckey exploded for 30 points in 27 minutes off the bench and the Pacers took care of the lowly Sixers. Tyreke Evans finished with 14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds for NOLA in the loss. Orlando has now held five straight opponents to under 100 points. The Magic held the Pels to just 13 points in the fourth quarter. Elfrid Payton approached a triple double with 10 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds, Victor Oladipo scored 22 and Evan Fournier added 16 and 6. Nikola Vucevic AKA the double-double machine had 18 points and 13 boards to lead the way for Orlando. But The Brow showed signs of rust, and the Magic pulled off the upset.
There are some benefits to having stability and duplicates throughout your lineup when a player goes down with an injury, but having the ability to throw different looks at opponents is a better recipe for playoff success.Anthony Davis (13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks) made his return to the court Friday night after missing two games plus All-Star with a sprained right shoulder. In the front court, there are plenty of bodies to back up Thaddeus Young, but none of the options are great or offer a big change of style or pace.
Even though Teague is clearly the primary ball-handler now, McMillan will have to work to find the right combinations to go with him, and who can play together when Teague isn’t on the court. They don’t play the exact same roles, but they also have overlap in how they play at their best, and that’s controlling the offense with the ball in their hands.
For example, it seems like the styles of Aaron Brooks, Rodney Stuckey, and Ellis are similar in many ways. Indiana Pacers: Jaden Ivey is still their best realistic NBA Draft targetīut the Pacers issues go beyond that.The Indiana Pacers actually come close to hiring Celtics HC Ime Udoka.Keifer Sykes and his time with the Indiana Pacers in 2021-22.Indiana Pacers: This mock trade is questionable at best.Indiana Pacers: Justin Anderson selected to All-NBA G-League First Team.There are already concerns about Jeff Teague and Monta Ellis sharing time as the starting guards, especially since neither can handle defending some of the NBA’s bigger shooting guards. We do not live in a perfect world, nor would things be fine with duplicate skill-sets. In a perfect world, everyone accepts their role and everything will be fine. “There’s going to need to be some sacrifices made with some of our guys.” “We have added (a lot of) depth, and there could be some issues with guys who are accustomed to playing a lot of minutes,” McMillan said. McMillan echoed and elaborated on his bosses’ sentiment on Monday. Not that they’re all-star players, but they’re all basically the same, so we’ll have to see how that works out.” “My only concern,” Bird said, “is we have too much talent in some areas. The Indy Star’s Jay Ayello reported that there may be an issue with overlapping talent. We also learned how both Larry Bird and Nate McMillan feel about the roster.
On Monday, we found out Myles Turner is recovering from a concussion.